Hello all,I went ahead and purchased the R4512 after getting a great deal omit on black Friday (25%!!!). I have yet to assemble it but will hopefully get to it this weekend (have a 3 week old daughter so free time is scarce). My question is as follows:

I want to make an outfeed table where a sled can ride onto through the miter slots. How would you make the connection to the saw at the outfeed side considering the back rail lives there? Again, keep in mind I have yet to assemble so maybe I’m missing something that will end up being easy but for anyone that has done this already and can shed some light that’d be great. The hope is to make it a hinged outfeed but it can be separate entirely if necessary. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

12 replies so far

congratulations on the newborn, we are in the same boat – same numbers and all so the free time constraint is well known.

as for the outfeed table, you can do 1 of 2 things. either have a separate free standing table behind the TS that stands right behind the rear-rail, or mount a folding/stationary outfeed table to the back of the saw by either mounting it to the TS case or to the rear rail. it will have to be behind the rail obviously so there will be a slight gap between the TS and the outfeed table which is marginal since all parts requiring an outfeed table will be long so this small gap will not be significant.

I would probably choose option 1 with a free standing table though. this way you can always rearrange things as you please and put them back together.

As for sizing – I’d say do half of the longest panel you’re planning on running through the TS. if you are planning on ripping a full ply sheet lengthwise (96”) than do it at least 48” (I’d add a couple more inches to it for extra safety) long so that at least half is resting on the outfeed, and some will still be on the TS. once more than half the panel is hanging in the air you’ll have to put downward pressure on the other half to keep it from elevating which could lead to some unsafe and unclean cuts.

I’m sure you are aware of this, but just in case you aren’t, adding an outfeed table that the ply will ride on also introduces more friction between the table and the plywood which means you’ll have to push harder through the cut – thats why I always always always cut full sheets to size with a circular saw and a straight edge. most times I don’t need to clean those cuts up at all.

Purplev has the right idea about cutting down full sheets. We built a cutting table from scrap PT pine that is slightly lower than the bed of my pickup. I can easily slide full sheets off bed and onto the table and avoid lifting.

Somewhere here on Lumberjocks there is a project or blog where someone built a very nice fold down outfeed table for a Craftsman 21833. Since the 21833 and R4512 are pretty much the same, it would work for you as well.

Unfortunately, I could not find the posting doing a search, and I didn’t favorite it. Maybe someone will remember that article (from about two years ago) and post a link.

@Viking: Nice! that’s a really nice outfeed table. The only issue I see is that I believe my fence rides on the back rail as well so it wouldn’t be connected like that though I may be able to rig something up similar with just a gap in between. Also the cutting table is a good idea and in there I saw a link to another plan from Fine Woodworking that is also nice.

@PurpLev: I was planning on putting laminate on top of the outfeed table to kind of help with friction.

@Lifesaver2000: Dang, I was unable to find it as well through here or Google. I’d LOVE to see that post!

I have searched a dozen different ways, and manually looked through the project listings for roughly the time period I was thinking this was posted, but cannot find it. I am wondering if it might have been removed, since I don’t remember it being this hard to find in the past when I wanted to look at it.

I think I can describe it though, it is actually pretty simple. The table used two large hinges attached to the removable back panel of the saw, so that when the top part of the hinge was at 90 degrees it was just below the back rail. Then spacers were used between the hinge and the bottom of the table itself to achieve the correct height. The table itself was a couple layers of plywood or something like that, with a black formica type top. There were folding legs then to support the table when it was up.

On my 21833, I went a different way, since I wanted to be able to remove the access panel. I used a couple of large steel shelf brackets attached to frame of the saw. Even though these point out at an angle, it still gave me room to put a fixed outfeed support that is about eight inches wide out past the back fence rail. My original plan then called for a hinged table to attach to this fixed section. Ultimately though, I decided to just build a stand alone outfeed table that doubles as an assembly table. The short fixed extension though is great for when I am cutting pieces up to about 4 ft long.

@Lifesaver2000: I think I’ll have to wait until my saw is assembled (again, hopefully this weekend) before I can make a judgment on how to do this. The one question I have is this (and again, keep in mind I currently have no idea how all this stuff looks when assembled/goes together): Is it a good idea to drill into the frame of the saw (I imagine you mean where the motor is housed)? I’m a bit skeptical unless there is enough room in there to clear and not drill into the motor itself (or if there is an easier way that I’m unaware of please do enlighten me).

There is plenty of room to drill through the frame and to put in bolts. I believe I used 3/8 inch bolts and nuts, inserting the bolts from inside the saw to minimize how much they intruded into the inside. What I am calling the frame is what some might call the legs, although to me the legs would be the part down lower on the saw. On your saw, I think it would be the gray part that holds the orange panels.

Now, having never seen inside an R4512, I can’t say for certain that it is the same as my saw, but on the outside it sure looks very similar. I would certainly do a dry fit on everything before actually drilling holes.

Another thing, my saw had only a one year warranty, and I did not do this until after that ran out. Yours has a three year warranty plus the Lifetime Service Agreement. That might also influence your willingness to start drilling. I know it might have given me second thoughts. It seems like they always look for excuses even when it has nothing to do with the actual problem.